Enforcement

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

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December 14, 2016

Along the campaign trail, then-candidate Donald Trump promised a special registry and database tracking system for Muslims in the United States. Although his spokesperson later claimed that he “...

December 12, 2016

With all the focus on what to expect at the national level on immigration under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, it’s easy to overlook the states and localities, which are reacting...

December 7, 2016

Unlike in criminal court, where those charged with a crime often hire bail bondsmen and consequently only have to pay 10 percent of the total bail amount, immigrants detained by Immigration and...

December 6, 2016

A Texas judge issued a final judgment last Friday prohibiting the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) from issuing a childcare license to the nation’s largest family...

December 1, 2016

The Supreme Court heard arguments this week in what may be the most important immigration case on its docket this fall, Jennings v. Rodriguez. The case, which began as a class action filed in...

November 29, 2016

A federal judge ordered the Border Patrol to immediately cease its practice of refusing to provide basic amenities to people detained in Border Patrol holding cells in Tucson, Arizona. The judge...

November 18, 2016
Senator Sessions has led the fight against immigration reform at every turn during his 20 years in the Senate.
November 14, 2016
Here's what's wrong with Donald Trump's claim that there are 2-3 million "criminal" immigrants in the country.
November 10, 2016

This reminder provides information on what individuals should do if they encounter law enforcement or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.

November 2, 2016

Almost one year ago, on November 16, 2015, 29 Central American women and their 35 minor children, represented by the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, sought federal court review of the legality of...

March 15, 2019

Many of the country’s top immigration agencies operate in secret. This lack of transparency in how immigration laws are implemented, administered, and enforced has the potential to devastate the...

March 13, 2019

In recent weeks, alarming stories have surfaced indicating that thousands more children were forcibly separated from their parents at the southern border than originally thought. In response to...

March 12, 2019

After weeks of tense negotiations, Congress averted a second government shutdown last month by reaching a bipartisan agreement on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 budget—a budget which gave President...

March 8, 2019

A group of drag queens—clad in feathered boas and wigs—gathered at a stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas last week to protest construction of President Trump’s border wall. Lip-syncing to...

March 7, 2019

In a combative hearing before Congress on Wednesday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen testified for the first time since Democrats became the majority in the House...

March 7, 2019
A federal district court in Seattle, Washington has certified two nationwide classes of detained asylum seekers who are challenging the government’s delays in providing asylum interviews and bond hearings.
March 4, 2019

Nothing is more delicate or worthy of comprehensive care than a newborn. Yet, over the past several weeks, detention watchdogs and public health experts have noticed an alarming uptick in the...

March 1, 2019

  Contrary to President Trump’s claim that “large-scale unlawful migration” across the southern border constitutes a “national emergency” that requires building a wall, research suggests that...

February 28, 2019
Numerous babies under the age of one—and some as young as six months old—are being detained in immigration detention at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas.
February 28, 2019
The Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies have increased immigrants’ vulnerability to swift deportation, making the ability to access safeguard more important than ever. The American Immigration Council and the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law filed a lawsuit to disclose critical information about how the Board of Immigration Appeals interprets legal safeguards that would allow these individuals to seek reopening or reconsidering of their immigration cases, and prevent the irreparable harms that can result from deportation.

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